1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to antenna brackets, and more particularly, to an antenna mounting bracket supporting an antenna on a vehicle for folding between an exposed position outside the vehicle and a stored position where the antenna is concealed inside the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vehicle mounted antennas are continually subjected to vandalism and theft, and more recently with the advent of popular Citizens Band radio use, provide a target for those unscrupulous individuals who seek to steal Citizens Band radio equipment for their own use or for sale to others. This problem is particularly serious in public parking lots where a potential thief need only scan the area, locate the antenna, and immediately set out to accomplish his intended task.
In an effort to solve the above problems, conventional antennas have almost universally been replaced by thin wires directly imbedded in the vehicle windshield. These antennas have proven to be satisfactory for conventional AM/FM use; however, their electromagnetic properties do not render them particularly well suited for use in conjunction with Citizens Band radio equipment.
To reduce the number of Citizens Band radio thefts, direct approaches have been taken to lock or permanently attach the radios to the vehicle. In addition, indirect approaches have been taken providing for removable antennas and magnetically mounted antennas which can be disassembled or removed from the vehicle whenever it is parked in an exposed area. All of these techniques exhibit serious disadvantages in that the mounting hardware is either complex and costly or requires constant assembly and disassembly. The removable or disconnectable antenna assemblies also suffer from the disadvantage that they must be stored somewhere when they are taken from the vehicle and, thus, often interfere with the unhampered use of the vehicle trunk.